Migration + Wealth Flow Explorer

State · Census age data

California: where Boomers and older adults are moving

Adults born 1964 or earlier who lived in a different state one year earlier, from the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. These are survey estimates of people, shown with their margins of error.

The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey estimates that about 41,800 adults born 1964 or earlier moved to California from another state in the prior year, while about 89,000 moved away. That is a net loss of about 47,100 Boomers and older adults (margin of error plus or minus 8,300), the largest net loss of any state.

The most common destination for Boomers and older adults leaving California was Arizona, at about 10,600 people (plus or minus 2,400), followed by Nevada and Texas.

Moved in from other states

41,825

people · margin of error ±4,695

Moved out to other states

88,958

people · margin of error ±6,515

Net change

-47,133

people · margin of error ±8,283

-5 per 1,000 Boomers and older adults living here

States receiving Boomers and older adults from California

Shaded by estimated people leaving for each state. Hover a state for the estimate and its margin of error.

Top destination states

StatePeople (estimate)Margin of errorConfidence
Arizona10,607±2,424Good
Nevada10,116±2,149Good
Texas7,910±1,642Good
Washington5,700±1,537Good
Oregon5,165±1,611Good
Florida4,686±1,489Good
Idaho4,354±2,022Good
North Carolina3,358±1,110Good
New Mexico2,377±1,032Good
Pennsylvania2,373±1,179Good
Colorado2,184±779Good
Tennessee1,845±757Good
New York1,806±798Good
New Jersey1,731±1,296Small sample
Minnesota1,715±1,318Small sample

Showing the 15 largest of 45 states with movers in the survey sample. Smaller flows rest on only a handful of survey responses.

Why this does not match the IRS view

The All households view counts tax-filing households of every age from 2022 to 2023 IRS records. This view counts individual people in one age group from a 2024 Census survey. They measure different things in different years, so the two sets of numbers are shown side by side and never added together. Census age data stops at the state level, so there is no county detail here. More in the guide.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Estimates and 90% margins of error calculated by Home Grown Property Group from the person file and its replicate weights. Counts people ages 18 and over living in the 50 states or D.C. who lived in a different state or D.C. one year earlier; moves from abroad and Puerto Rico are not included. This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.